Read Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?: A Crash Course in Finding, Landing, and Keeping Your First Real Job for Free Online

the gym, yoga, sports, book clubs, theater, singing groups, and so on. Even if your career interests have little to do with your hobbies, you might find a connection there. (Perhaps the leader of your church choir is a lawyer in a firm you’re applying to….)
    Your daily path. Be open to talking to people you see regularly in everyday life—at the coffee shop, waiting for the bus or train, at your hair salon, dentist, or doctor’s office. You have no idea who knows whom. Mention that you’re looking for a job in such-and-such industry,and you’ll be surprised at how often someone will say, “Oh, I have a friend who …”
    Random acquaintances. All of this also goes for strangers with whom you might strike up a conversation. The passenger sitting next to you on a bus, plane, or train; people waiting in line at the supermarket, the movie theater, or a restaurant.
    Your references. People often overlook their own list of references as a valuable networking resource. When you’re asking for a reference (see chapter 5 ), why not add a line that says, “If you know of anyone I should speak with in this field, please let me know.” Unless you ask explicitly, your recommender will remain in passive mode, waiting to be contacted by a prospective employer—not thinking about activating her network on your behalf. But if you ask, you may hear, “Oh, yes, my son-in-law is an engineer in Oklahoma; please feel free to give him a call.”
    Outside your existing connections, you can work to create a professional network by taking classes and seminars, joining professional organizations, and reading professional journals, websites, and periodicals related to your field of interest. Go to career fairs and networking events. You’ll meet people interested in what you’re interested in, and you never know what might happen.
“But I Have No Connections, I Swear!”
    Okay. You’re a young job-hunter with few professional connections. How are you going to find that hidden job market? It’s hidden, right? Well, it’s visible to people on the inside—so that’s where you need to be.
    If possible—if it makes sense given your finances, schedule, and time frame—take internships, temp, or volunteer
while you’re looking for a job
. You might be thinking, Yeah, right, I did that in college, or I don’t have time for that—I need a job! But there’s no substitute for being on-site in an industry. You have access to bulletin boards with all kinds of job postings, company newsletters, Listservs and annual reports, and industry periodicals. If you don’t know a lot about the industry, you’ll get the chance to identify what types of jobs you might like and to learn industry language and practices.
    THE RULE OF THREE IN ACTION
    As you start your search, you should be trying to meet as many people as you can without going on overload. Organize the contacts you already have by creating a master document with contact info for each person, leaving room for notes: when you called, when you have an appointment, background info, questions you have, and so forth. Once you’ve done this, use the Rule of Three. Assign three names to each day of the week: one in the morning, one before or after lunch, one at the end of the day. (You get the weekend off, just like everyone else.) Transfer the names into your appointment book or electronic calendar—it doesn’t matter what you use as long as you’re diligent.
    Reach out and offer to meet people at or near their workplace for breakfast, lunch, during the day, or after work—whatever works best for them. See if they’ll schedule a phone call if they can’t meet in person.
    Keep in mind: You are simply looking for people to talk to in order to find out more about a field and about what kinds of positions might suit you. You are not looking for jobs. This should help take the pressure off. Because you’ll be asking for new names from each person you talk with, you should always have